Ben GruagachComments Off on Pagan Booklist: Trance
Many magickal practitioners use altered states of consciousness, often called trance, as a way to tap energies and connect with beings that are usually beyond our everyday reality. Trance allows us to draw from the inexhaustible well of inspiration. It allows us to commune with the Divine, and to work wonders. In Wicca, Gardner taught that there were eight main… Read more »
Ben GruagachComments Off on Pagan Booklist: Biographies
We modern Pagans are a rather literate lot. In addition to the many handbooks, theoretical works, folklore collections, poems, songs, rituals, and workbooks in print, there are also quite a few illuminating biographies and autobiographies. Reading about the lives of others following magickal and Pagan spiritual paths can help us understand better what came before and where our community might… Read more »
Ben GruagachComments Off on Pagan Booklist: Traditional Witchcraft
Like with many categories of modern occultism, particularly among spiritual or religious groups, there is a lot of debate about what makes someone a part of the group and what excludes someone from that group. The category of traditional witchcraft sees its fair share of this type of debate – if you ask a group of thirteen witches to define… Read more »
Ben GruagachComments Off on Pagan Booklist: Spirit Work
[Note: this article has been edited since it was first posted to include new books on the topic.] Some magickal practitioners focus on working with non-physical entities, whether these entities are described as elementals, faeries, ghosts, ancestors, angels, demons, saints, loa, intelligences, or deities. Different systems have different ways of categorizing and classifying — some are very strict about putting… Read more »
Ben GruagachComments Off on Pagan Booklist: Spooky Fiction for Samhain
Samhain, or Halloween as it’s commonly known in North America, has long been a time for ghost stories and spooky tales. Some authors, like Stephen King, Anne Rice, and Clive Barker, have become famous writing horror. But when it comes to Halloween tales, there is one writer who is master: Ray Bradbury. Ray Bradbury has October in his bones, his… Read more »
Ben GruagachComments Off on Pagan Booklist: Communing with Nature
One of the reasons many people turn to modern Pagan religions is to seek a way to incorporate respect for Nature into their spirituality. Some religions, such as Wicca, have a decidedly Earth-revering emphasis. How can we enhance our understanding of Nature and build a deep connection with the flora, fauna, and mineral realms? There are quite a few books… Read more »
Ben GruagachComments Off on Pagan Booklist: Magick
Many books that are available on the topic of magick present it from within a specific religious framework. Many of these sorts of books end up being mostly about religion and have only a small bit that is about magick. What’s a person to do if they want to learn about magick but are not as interested in the religious… Read more »
Ben GruagachComments Off on Pagan Booklist: Fairies
[Updated Sept. 14, 2021 to include some more recent books.] Most people are aware of midsummer (the summer solstice) as a key time when the realm of the fairies overlaps with our own. Not as many realize though that there is another time of year when the veil is thin: the winter solstice, or Yule. It’s obvious when you think… Read more »
